ANEEJ urges Buhari to reconsider decision on Petroleum bill

The Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider his decision not to sign the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB, in the interest of Nigerians.

The Presidency on Wednesday explained that assent to the PIGB was withheld on the grounds that what has been permitted as accruals to the petroleum commission has the tendency to reduce what then gets to the three tiers of government.

In addition, there are concerns within the echelons of power that expanding the scope of petroleum equalization fund conflicts with provisions on independent petroleum equalization fund.

“But these are tenuous reasons being adduced for Mr. President’s refusal to sign this bill,” ANEEJ stated in a statement by its executive director, Rev David Ugolor.

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According to ANEEJ rather than dwell on the technicalities inherent in the bill, Mr. President needs to rise up to the occasion and do the needful by exploring other ways and means of resolving these technicalities than an outright dissent.

“If the bill will effectively checkmate the three tiers of government from the habit of going cap hand to Abuja to pick up monthly handouts from the centre so be it.  In all of the 17 years wherein the bill has been with the Legislature, it has been so balkanized and scrutinized to the extent that it has nearly lost of all its substance and relevance.

“The broad overview of the Petroleum Industry Bill was essentially to give the Nigerian people ownership of a key extractive sector of the Nigerian economy. The Bill also sought to take into consideration the interests of the local communities that have suffered despoliation, pollution and degradation because of the activities of multinational companies in Nigeria,” ANEEJ stated.

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